Underbody for shoes



April 11', 1939. D F HERBST 2,154,241'

` UNDERBODY FOR SHOES Filed July 28, 1937 D ATTORNEY .s

Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT 2 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in re'- silient under-bodies forshoes.

The object of my invention is to provide an under-body or supportingstructure for shoes which will provide added resilience, but withoutdetracting from lateral stability of footwear.

More particularly stated, it is the object of my invention to provide anextremely resilient ply in a multiple-ply heel. or sole for shoes, andto so shape the various plies as to maintain the lateral stability ofthe supporting structure of the shoe.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of a shoe, and showing the heel portionthereof in vertical section.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the heel portion of the shoe shown inFigure l.

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is an expanded view of the plies of my shoe under-body inseparate relation.

Like parts are designated by the same reference characters throughoutthe several views.

I am aware that highly resilient material has heretofore been used inthe soles and heels of shoes, or in particular plies of the materialfound in multiple-ply composite heels and soles of shoes. Such resilientmaterial comprises com positions of rubber, or rubber with othermaterials, such as fabric. However, if the resilient substance or ply,in a multi-ply under-body for shoes, is in a single plane conguration,or substantially so, the lateral stress thereupon will cause the shoeunderbody to be unstable and provide a feeling of jelly-like instabilitywhich becomes very tiring to the wearer, and usually results in shortlife of the shoe underbody. I,

therefore, have provided an extremely resilient v construction in theunder-body such as the heel or sole of the shoe which is pressed betweenplies having shoulders or irregular surfaces, as will be apparent fromthe following description.

I have shown in the drawing a construction of a shoe heel embodying' myinvention, but it will be understood that any form or shape of shoeunder-body be constructed in accordance with invention.

Any shape or size of shoe l0, embodying my invention, includes amulti-ply under-body such as a heel wherein a shoewsole il of leather,or other suitable material, extends from the toe I2 clear through to thecounter i3. Against the underside of the sole II, there may be anysuitable number of lifts M to attain the proper height of heel, and itis to the sole II, or any lift I, that my improved resilient structureis attached.

The resilient portion of my shoe under-body includes two special liftsi5 and I6, with an interposed layer I? of highly resilient material,such as sponge rubber; and as illustrated in my drawing, I have shownthe lifts I5 and I6 formed of relatively harder hubber which is cementedor vulcanized to the sponge rubber I'I.

Of great importance, as embodying my invention, it will be noted thatthe plies I5 and I6 as to their juxtaposed surfaces are not in one planebut are formed with portions in oir-set planes as shown most clearly inFigure 4 where in I have exaggerated the dimensions of the respectiveplies so as to show the marginal portion o-f my shoe under-body in aplane at I9, and the central portion in a plane at 2t, with a shouldertherebetween at 2|.

The extremely resilient sponge rubber, or other suitable soft material,is positioned between the plies I5 and I6 and forced into aconiiguration conforming to the shape of the juxtaposed portions orplanes of the plies I5 and I6, but it will be noted that it has extremestability against lateral pressure or thrusts which may be communicatedfrom the one ply I5 to the other ply I6, or vice versa, since theshoulder 2I, although cushioned by the resilient material, is restrained.against extremes f movement relative to the juxtaposed ply.

Usually the highly resilient material, such as sponge rubber which maybe used at Il, is not very satisfactory as a wear-resisting substance. Itherefore shield` this substance with wearresisting substances, such asrelatively hard rubber in the plies I and I6, so that nails 22 may beused to secure my new under-body to the sole II or to the under-portionof the shoe.

From` the above description it will become apparent that I have provideda shoe heel, or other shoe under-body, which will permit of extremeresilient relation of the plies I5 and I5 so rar as vertical pressuresare concerned, but that the lateral stability of the shoe will bemaintained because of the cupped or shouldered relation of the plies.Under pressure the marginal portions of the highly resilient ply or liftI'I will be permitted to expand laterally to a slight extent, the degreeof possible expansion being dependent upon the thickness and width ofthat portion of the ply Il which bears upon that portion of the ply I6exterior to its shoulder Z I.

But the central portion of the ply Il, i. e., that portion which bearsupon the bottom of the recess in the ply I6, is confined by the shoulderat 2| and the portion 2|! of the upper ply, and is thus held againstlateral expansion, since the upper ply enters the cup-shaped recess inthe lower ply to a sufficient extent to definitely limit lateralexpansion.

Therefore, the central portions of the ply l? have a higher degree ofresistance to compression than the marginal portions, inasmuch as thecentral portion can neither expand nor shift laterally, and the portion20 of the upper ply is also held against lateral shifting movementrelatively to the lower ply IB.

I claim:

1. A shoe heel composed of a plurality of plies, including upper andlower plies of relatively rigid wear resisting material, havinginteracting shoulder portions adapted to prevent material lateralshifting movement of one ply upon the other, and an interposed ply ofmaterial having substantially the characteristics of sponge rubber, andhaving a central portion held by said interacting shoulder portionsagainst material shifting movement in a lateral direction.

2. A shoe heel composed of a plurality of plies, including upper andlower plies of relatively rigid wear resisting material having opposingmarginal surfaces in substantially parallel planes, the central portionsof said plies having their opposing surfaces in different planes, saidcentral portions being flanked by obliquely extending shoulders leadingfrom the central portions of said plies to their respective marginalportions in positions for relative movement of interaction, said upperand lower plies having an interposed ply of highly resilient material ofsubstantially the charactristics of sponge rubber and co-extensive withthe opposing surfaces of the other plies, the central portion of theinterposed ply being confined by said shoulders against materiallateral, shifting, and expansive movements, whereby the heel has highresilience in a vertical direction and stability against relativelateral movement of its parts.

DONALD F. HERBST.

